Showing papers in "International Journal for Academic Development in 2013"

Reflections on the changing nature of educational development

Abstract: Educational development has changed in many ways over the last 40 years and the International Consortium for Educational Development has highlighted the sheer variety of practices by bringing together educational developers from countries where activities differ markedly. These reflections identify the wide range of foci of attention that are visible – what it is that developers are trying to develop – and the different change mechanisms that they adopt. It also highlights changes that can be seen over time, as educational development within a university, or within a country, matures and expands. Observations are made about the value and desirability of some of these changes. It is hoped that outlining the changes in educational development helps educational developers to recognise their own activities in a different light and to prompt reflections on what else they might do and what direction they might move in.

Reconceptualising academic work as professional practice: implications for academic development

Abstract: Despite increasing research and scholarship in the area of academic development in recent years, it remains an under-theorised field of endeavour. The paper proposes that academic developers take a view on what constitutes academic work and see it as a form of professional practice. It discusses the features of practice theory that illuminate professional practice and identifies three foci for the application of these ideas within academic development: practice development, fostering learning-conducive work and deliberately locating activity within practice. It also suggests that academic development be viewed as a practice and points to features within its own traditions on which to build.

The literature landscape of blended learning in higher education: the need for better understanding of academic blended practice

Abstract: If we are to realise the potential of blended learning in higher education, then further research into academic practice and relevant academic development is essential. Our review of literature on blended learning in higher education reveals an interesting scholarship landscape which, when described in detail, pointedly directs attention to the lack of literature seeking to understand academics’ current blended practices. We argue that this is problematic in terms of formulating the required professional development and support. In essence, this paper uncovers the need for further research into understanding not only why academics may choose to engage in blended learning, but also, once engaged, why some choose to integrate technology to create transformative blends while others choose minimally impacting blends. This paper may interest those supporting academics in developing blended learning. It provides a guiding resource both for researchers investigating blended practices and those embarking on blend...

The impact of communities of practice in support of early-career academics

Abstract: This paper traces the history and impact of communities of practice (CoPs) in supporting early-career academics, although the primary focus here in the United States is on the faculty learning community (FLC) model, a special type of CoP in higher education. The initial development of this model, beginning in 1979, takes place over two decades at Miami University, and then is extended over the third decade to other institutions of higher education in the US, followed by current international explorations. One study found that early-career academics that participated in FLCs for their cohort were tenured at a significantly higher rate compared to those who were not in FLCs. Other studies discovered that early-career academic FLC participation had a positive impact on their interest in the teaching process, their comfort as a member of the university community, and their understanding of, and interest in, the scholarship of teaching and learning. The paper concludes with the results of a study of why some e...

Peer observation of teaching in university departments: a framework for implementation

Abstract: Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged, voluntary, opt-in/out-out process involving a hands-on preparatory workshop and trial observation; partnering early-career and experienced academic staff; and an ‘external to faculty’ coordinator. The importance of these four elements, the stages of the program and the impact on the development of collegiality within the school and aspects of the teaching role are discussed. This case offers further insights into the complexities of peer observation of teaching and a tested framework for introducing peer observation of teaching programs within schools and departments.

Collaborative discipline-based curriculum change: applying Change Academy processes at department level

Abstract: Bringing about change in teaching and learning in higher education is a core aspect of the work of academic developers. This paper is novel in analysing the experience of a year-long initiative to support curriculum changes in departments in related disciplines in different universities. It applies some of the processes developed by Change Academy – an initiative sponsored by the UK Higher Education Academy and the Leadership Foundation – to the design of a three-day programme. Underpinned by consideration of models of institutional and curriculum change, the research draws on interviews to identify the features of the programme that appear to have been effective at supporting departmental teams to clarify, design and plan significant curriculum-related initiatives. Emphasis is placed on designing and supporting collaborative curriculum change. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for academic developers wanting to support department-based curriculum changes in their countries.

Online peer observation: its value in teacher professional development, support and well-being

Abstract: This article discusses an online peer observation project conceived to enhance language-teacher positivity and creativity in synchronous virtual classrooms. Participants worked part-time at the UK’s Open University (OU) in a blended context and came from two different groups distant from each other and geographically dispersed within their own group. As a result of the project, participants perceived an increase in their confidence and greater willingness to experiment. They appreciated better how they fitted into the wider OU teaching community, built new professional friendships and flexible communities of practice, and developed a better understanding of how to progress their own self-development.

Collaborative scholarship as a means of improving both university teaching practice and research capability

Abstract: The literature suggests generic workshops on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) rarely have a lasting impact on teaching. Seeking an alternative approach, academic developers designed a four-stage Collaborative Scholarship Model where they provided individualised SoTL mentoring to academics implementing a teaching innovation. Project outcomes included sustained change to teaching, openness to new ideas, scholarly contributions and peer recognition (through awards, publications or invited presentations). This model had a sustained impact on participants’ teaching and increased research productivity. Although few individuals can be mentored at one time in this labour-intensive model, long-term benefits may still outweigh limitations in scalability.

Journeys of growth towards the professional learning of academics: understanding the role of educational development

Abstract: This article foregrounds the iterative journey of a group of educational development (ED) practitioners at a research-led university towards an enhanced understanding of the ED opportunities we offer. Reflecting on the intention of our interventions to facilitate academics’ professional learning, we developed a framework within which the range of growth opportunities we provide might be meaningfully situated. Our objective was to extend our insight into both the journeys that academics follow towards adopting a more scholarly approach to their teaching and our own journeys of growth in ED as well as professionally.

Overseas flying faculty teaching as a trigger for transformative professional development

Abstract: In earlier work, I proposed that flying faculty teaching, where home institution academics teach for short, intense periods in host countries, could foster transformative professional development. In the present article, I explore this empirically. Using the biographic–narrative–interpretative method, five male academics were interviewed three times about their experiences of teaching outside the country where they ordinarily work. The data provide vivid descriptions of overseas teaching in terms of the content (choice of materials, contextualisation, research areas); process (delivery and facilitation, hierarchy, language); and premise (the enterprise of internationalisation, expanded worldviews and global appreciation) of academic practice. The findings raise issues about how universities and the academic development community more specifically support and develop staff for such globalised roles.

Academic developer identity: how we know who we are

Abstract: This paper explores academic developer identity by applying self-concept theory and appreciative inquiry to the personal journeys of two academic developers. Self-attribution, social comparison and reflected appraisals are presented and applied to explain how academic developers form their identities. Sociological principles are incorporated to describe the recursive informing of academic development and developer identities. The presentation of implications positions academic developers as higher education leaders.

Professional dialogues: exploring an alternative means of assessing the professional learning of experienced HE academics

Abstract: Courses are widely used to provide professional qualifications for higher education (HE) practitioners. However, the question of how experienced academics might gain recognition as professional educators without completing a course is not well explored. This paper introduces the use of professional dialogue for this purpose, describing an approach being applied within four UK universities. The paper discusses the value of the professional dialogue, drawing on assessors’ and participants’ voices to provide empirical evidence. Findings from the study suggest that ‘assessed dialogues’ provide a more authentic route to professional recognition for experienced HE academics, effectively synthesising professional development, the individual and organisational learning.

Rethinking e-learning support strategies

Abstract: This paper discusses an e-learning support team model developed as part of a new e-learning strategy within a tertiary education polytechnic. Based upon a community of practice model, the e-Team supports the establishment of e-learning and m-learning (mobile learning) throughout the institution as a catalyst for the adoption of social constructivist pedagogy. The paper reviews and reflects upon the impact of strategies for creating and supporting communities of practice across the institution along with the ways this model is achieving the breaking down of the barriers to ‘e’ and ‘m’ learning adoption among lecturers. This model helped to move lecturers from non-engagement to legitimate peripheral participation and onto full participation within the institution’s e-learning community, and ultimately enabling social constructivist learning environments for students. This model based on a community of practice framework for e-learning support is potentially transferable to other educational contexts.

Teachers’ perceptions of the learning environment and their knowledge base in a training program for novice university teachers

Abstract: Despite the complexity of teaching, learning to teach in universities is often ‘learning by doing’. To provide novice university teachers with pedagogic teaching knowledge and to help them develop specific teaching objectives, we created a structured, video-based, one-year training program. In focusing on the core features of professional development, the authors assess two research questions: (1) To what extent does the program support content focus, active learning, and coherence? (2) What knowledge base do novice university teachers exhibit after completing the training program? Trained teachers (N = 12) were surveyed, and their responses were compared to statements they made before participating in the program. Participants rated all training components as helpful and reported a high level of active learning during their training. Their acquired professional knowledge was more specialized at the end of the program, compared to the beginning. The results so far support the creation of structured traini...

Teaching with emotional intelligence: a step-by-step guide for higher and further education professionals (2nd ed.)

Abstract: by Alan Mortiboys, London, Routledge, 2012, 164 pp., £25.99/US$46.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0415571401 Alan Mortiboys’ book is a valuable addition to the toolkit of both academic developers and acad...

Welcome to 2012: Australian academic developers and student-driven university funding

Abstract: Are there consequences for academic development arising from the move to student-driven funding in the Australian higher education sector from 2012? In a move that has similarities to the UK, Australian government-supported student university funding will, from 2012, attach to students who can select a programme at the university of their choice and take their government funding with them. The authors of the present article note that in both Australia and the UK the organisation of academic development has, in the recent past, been impacted by government initiatives that have consequences for funding. The argument in this article, based on data collected in Australia and the UK, is that 2012’s funding changes will lead to a propensity to reorganise academic development arrangements within universities. University strategic plans will impact on the nature of academic development work and lead to further imposition of key performance indicators on academic developers.

Foundational academic development: building collegiality across divides?

Abstract: There is limited research into the effectiveness of non-accredited foundational courses for new academic staff. An ongoing issue is that of attention and anxiety overload in the critical first period of employment when the challenges of establishing oneself in a new collegial environment are most acute. Approaches to addressing this issue may be experienced as imposition by academic departments and new academics, while academic development staff may feel that they barely have time to ‘parachute in’ with survival strategies that are often at best highly generalised and at worst counter to best practice. In the present study, new academics were interviewed to gain insight into their experiences. A foundational academic programme is proposed that helps new academics cope with the challenges they face in the early stages of their employment. With this research, another question for further investigation arises: how can foundation programmes work across ‘structural divides’ of university departmentalism?

Enhancing international collaboration among academic developers in established and emerging contexts: moving toward a post-colonial perspective

Abstract: With the acceleration of globalization, academic developers from institutions and countries with established educational development programs and networks are called upon increasingly to share their expertise and offer guidance to colleagues in emerging higher education contexts. Based on a higher education conference held in Beijing in 2009, this paper captures the learning as the Chinese host institutions and international exchange partners progressed toward a more developed understanding and application of elastic, post-colonial approaches to the interchange. It includes a set of recommendations and guidelines to assist future international exchanges, based on the insights gained throughout this rich experience.

Democracy or intervention? Adapting orientations to development

Abstract: Many institutional cultures resist change, and within universities academic developers vary their response to such resistance, depending on the type of change, the institution and their own characteristic styles, working preferences and strategic judgements. Variables influencing the successful introduction of innovation in academic practice include the inherent susceptibility of the institution to innovation, the nature of the innovation and the approaches of the change agents involved. This paper explores responses to resistant institutional culture; it presents a dichotomous model of educational development orientations which emerged from an action research project within a research-intensive university and suggests that by adapting developmental orientations according to context, developers can explicitly influence the responsiveness of members of the institution to innovation in academic practice.

Fashioning docile teacher bodies? The strange space of the ‘staff teaching seminar'

Abstract: For 40 years, the ‘staff teaching seminar’ has aimed to prepare academics to meet the complex demands of university teaching. In Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ), as elsewhere, the seminar emerged in the late 1960s–early 1970s, and preceded centrally funded academic development (AD) centres. Targeting new academics, the programme typically focused on core activities of university teaching and blended presentations by experienced academics from various disciplines with group activities and plenary discussions. Several decades on, this pedagogical space is plainly recognisable as a core site of AD in NZ today. In order to problematise AD’s ambitions for this site and others like it, this essay refracts past and present versions through the prism of heterotopia. In so doing, we sound a warning about AD’s implication in the inexorable rise of governmentality in our institutions. We also, though, recognise the ways in which the staff teaching seminar eludes such forces.

When a practitioner becomes a university faculty member: a review of literature on the challenges faced by novice ex-practitioner teacher educators

Abstract: It is challenging for ex-practitioners beginning to teach in higher education settings due to their long experience in other fields. In this paper, as an example of a nexus of practitioners and academics, the focus is the issues of novice teacher educators at the beginning of their careers and support programmes for them. Three factors were identified as causing the most distress: difficulty in changing their identities, adjusting to the new work environment and fear of research. These problems align with the cognitive, social and ethical aspects of learning. To overcome these problems, various potential platforms exist, such as traditional mentoring, peer mentoring, joint reflection or self-study. With support programmes, regardless of platform, novice teacher educators’ struggles can be opportunities to learn more about the three aspects of their new jobs.

Collaborative Self-Study of Online Teaching in Early Childhood Teacher Education.

Abstract: Six academics at a regional university in Australia engaged in collaborative research examining their teaching and learning practices, their current understandings and beliefs about teacher education pedagogy and, specifically, the online teaching and learning environments. This collegial self-study project was guided by the goal of achieving professional learning through participation and active reflection on pedagogical practices, as well as exploring linkages and continuities between the courses within two nested degree programmes in which the researchers teach. The article focuses on how the faculty implemented the self-study research project and shows how the negotiated transition supported each researcher to engage deeply with socioconstructionist theories within the pedagogy of an online environment.

Performance measurement for academic development: risk or opportunity?

Abstract: Across the higher education sector, there currently appears to be an obsession with measuring performance, at the level of the individual, unit, centre, department, faculty and whole of institution. The current concerns in higher education as with many complex organisations are: accountability, competition and strategic use of resources. Within higher education, academic development is in general a cost and not a revenue-generating activity, so it is not reasonable to expect that we can escape scrutiny through performance measures and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), given that these are the new currency of accountability. The impact of the central academic services in universities is notoriously difficult to measure in ways that align with all stakeholder interests. When times are tough, we are an easy target for cost-cutting measures. The role that our centres play in enabling universities to ensure their continuing relevance in shifting circumstances should make a compelling case for their survival. Yet recent experience clearly demonstrates the turbulence created by political, fiscal and organisational pressures in this arena. The fact that many centres – both institutionally and nationally – are restructured, redistributed or disestablished must raise questions for the academic development community. What does it say about our level of leadership, engagement, influence and advocacy that our contribution can be dismissed so easily? This opinion piece is a call to arms for academic developers. While we may be dismayed that senior management in higher education institutions and funding bodies don’t understand our narrative, and thus impose what we may consider to be poorly defined KPIs and performance measures, we need to ask ourselves if within our own broad community of practice, there is a coherent narrative around what it is that is being evaluated. A shared narrative could enable us as a profession to articulate our significant contribution to organisational development and performance. Instead of constantly being at risk of our performance being inappropriately measured, we could consider making strategic use of the plethora of accountability measures through a coherent articulation of our wide role and influence in organisational development.

Managing change across time and space

Abstract: Two themes which are in the foreground of this issue of IJAD are those of managing change – what works, what are success factors and how we evaluate the change management processes – and that of ho...

The coming and going: the work of educational developers when admission criteria and desired outcomes change simultaneously

Abstract: Higher education is facing a conundrum relevant to the field of educational development: expectations regarding entrance criteria and graduation attributes are changing simultaneously. Biggs' model of constructive alignment can be used to analyze the challenges presented by these shifts in expectation and help educational developers understand their pedagogical implications. In the present article, an expanded model is proposed in which entrance requirements are added to Biggs' original conceptualization. In so doing, the length of the “learning journey” – from entrance to outcomes – can be charted. When entrance requirements and graduate attributes change simultaneously, higher education must accommodate learning journeys of varying lengths and nature. Moving targets such as these can engender a sense of frustration, if not helplessness, for academic staff responsible for curricular and pedagogical enhancement. However, rather than responding with a sense of helplessness, the educational developer should...

Enabling Connections in Postgraduate Supervision for an Applied eLearning Professional Development Programme.

Abstract: This article describes the practice of postgraduate supervision on a blended professional development programme for academics, and discusses how connectivism has been a useful lens to explore a complex form of instruction. By examining the processes by which supervisors and their students on a two-year part-time masters in Applied eLearning negotiated the blended approach adopted to supervision, it illustrates the conditions that enable connections to occur and flourish. The socio-technical context for supervision was supported using learning technologies (VLE, research wikis and ePortfolios), small group supervision (two to three supervisors and students) and traditional individual supervision. Qualitative data were obtained through surveys and focus groups, and analysed using a framework which drew on connectivist principles. Findings suggest that for increased connections between supervisors and their students, a sense of sanctuary, community and regulation within the supervision process is important; ...

The importance of critical reflection in and on academic development

Abstract: Critical reflection requires us to ponder our practices, processes, and identities It also requires us to look beyond our own circumstances to the external factors, policies, and people that might

Structured Strategy for Implementation of the Teaching Portfolio Concept in Japan.

Abstract: This paper describes a strategy for successfully implementing the teaching portfolio in higher education institutions in Japan. The teaching portfolio has gained recognition in Japan in the last few years as an effective instrument for improving and showcasing teaching performance. It is well known that the implementation process is very important for successful integration of new practices. This paper presents a practical implementation strategy that includes planning the appropriate structure of the contents and processes of the portfolio, providing comprehensive information, and supporting networking among institutions in order to administer this strategy effectively. 本論文は, 日本の高等教育機関においてティーチング・ポートフォリオの導入および活用を円滑に進める方略について紹介し, 論じることを目的としている．ティーチング・ポートフォリオは教員の教育活動を可視化し, かつ改善する方法として近年日本でも注目を集めているが, その効果を発揮するには「正しい導入」が重要な鍵となる．本研究では,日本のコンテクストに適したポートフォリオの構成や導入プロセスについての検討に始まり, 包括的な情報提供の整備, さらには機関相互のネットワーク構築の支援を含めた総合的な導入支援環境について, 実践から得られた知見に基づいた提案を行っている.

Academic development in the evolution of higher education

Abstract: In his commentary for the ‘coming-of-age’ issue of IJAD earlier this year, Graham Gibbs observed that academic development has changed greatly in the last four decades (Gibbs, 2013, p. 4). And rightly so. As the higher education (HE) environment continually evolves, influenced – or buffeted – by such factors as government policies, economic circumstances and technological innovation, so too must academic development flex and morph to remain relevant to HE and to help mould its future. The many manifestations of academic development around the world render it hard to pin down, demarcate or explain succinctly. As an example, the triad of ‘confidential, formative and voluntary’ that circumscribes the work of many US faculty development centres leads to a rather different dynamic than in countries where structured programmes for academics are a condition of continued employment. And vast variations in institutional focus and mission help shape academic development at the local level, too, displaying a richness of developer roles and activities that can be simultaneously thrilling and frustrating. As a field, academic development is a messy business. So in the ‘ongoing reinvention of the academy’ (Lee & McWilliam, 2008, p. 76), how do developers prepare, pre-empt, respond or acclimatize? This issue of IJAD showcases how evolving realities lead developers to respond in imaginative ways. We find them helping academics succeed in changed institutional and national landscapes, and creating new models to theorize academic development work itself. Our first two articles in this issue offer new perspectives on how we might reconceptualize academic development. David Boud and Angela Brew invite us to use a ‘practice’ frame for our work, thinking not of developing individual academics who are somehow deficient, but of developing individuals’ practices, moving ‘from what academics need to know to what they need to do to enact their work’. Boud and Brew argue that this practice perspective will lead to the greatest learning, occurring at the point when lecturers need it and mindful of individuals’ current circumstances, seeing them not as only ‘teachers’ or ‘researchers’, but as whole people with multiple responsibilities and demands on their time. The ‘practice turn’ in this article offers a tantalizing angle from which to view and review the activities and strategies of academic development centres. Virginia King proposes an alternative conceptualization by borrowing a model from UK government-funded projects and applying it to academic development. ‘Product-based analysis’ asks us to focus not on intangible factors ‘like capabilities, structures, attitudes and knowledge transfer’, but on the intended result in concrete terms – ‘empowered learners’, ‘effective reflective practitioners’, and so on. Using a British university’s educational development centre as a case study, King provides examples of how this form of analysis works in practice, and how visual International Journal for Academic Development, 2013 Vol. 18, No. 3, 205–207, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2013.818203